Colombian National Police Human Resources Assessment

This project should support the overarching goal of INL Bogota’s Law Enforcement Professionalization Section (LEPS): to disrupt and dismantle narcotrafficking and other transnational crime by enhancing CNP capabilities, processes, and internal structures. To contribute to that goal, this project will assess the effectiveness of Colombian National Police (CNP) recruitment and retention processes and policies and provide recommendations, if warranted, that help the CNP (1) incorporate and keep the most qualified workforce possible and (2) increase staffing levels within CNP Directorates that most directly counter narcotics and crime. Police salaries in Latin America are traditionally low, usually far below skilled laborer or professional salaries in the same country. Although Colombia is the fourth largest country and the third largest economy in South America, CNP officials earn less than their counterparts in the region. Even though pay is substandard, Colombian police recruits must still pay several thousands of dollars to apply, enter, and graduate from the police academy. In addition to tuition and administrative fees, cadets must buy their uniforms, bedding, and textbooks. These costs limit recruits from poorer strata and minority groups. Only five of the country’s 32 departments consistently meet recruitment goals. The remainder of the country’s recruitment efforts do not produce the numbers that the CNP needs to counter attrition and provide police coverage nationwide, especially in rural areas. In addition, the CNP currently has a large percentage of its uniformed police officers assigned to clerical positions with no citizen security nexus. In light of the barriers to entry and acute attrition dynamics the CNP is currently experiencing, the purpose of this project will be to support the Government of Colombia and the Colombian National Police to assess existing human resources processes and diagnose if these are well suited to address the recruitment and retention challenges the CNP has already identified. This project will also provide recommendations that will aim to increase and enhance CNP overall recruitment, improve retention rates, and accelerate and expand CNP deployment into rural and underserved areas. As part of its diagnostic, this project will also evaluate the CNP salary scale and retirement system.